Japan's July current account surplus falls 17.3 per cent

TOKYO: Japan's current account surplus in July fell 17.3 percent from a year ago as the value of imports continued to rise on the back of rising energy prices, the finance ministry said Wednesday.

The account surplus stood at 1.53 trillion yen (14.29 billion dollars), the ministry said.

The trade surplus fell 69.8 percent to 232.2 billion yen, as the value of imports rose 18.9 percent to a record high 7.06 trillion yen while exports rose 8.7 percent to 7.29 trillion yen.

Rising energy prices inflated the overall value of imports for the month.

The value of total crude oil imports rose 69.2 percent to 733.8 billion yen, the value of coal imports more than doubled to 174.0 billion yen, and the value of liquid natural gas imports rose 59.3 percent to 155.0 billion yen.

Japan has seen prices of general merchandise rise as the prices of raw materials and energy products continue to soar, prompting inflationary worries while the domestic economy remains weak.